ZAGREB, January 9, 2020 – The day commemorating the unification of the region of Međimurje with the parent country Croatia was marked at a ceremony in the northern town of Čakovec on Thursday.
An envoy of the Croatian state leadership, Mursko Središće Mayor Dražen Srpak, said that on 9 January 1919 Međimurje had actually reunited with Croatia, its parent country, to which it had always belonged, and with the Croat people.
Međimurje County remembers today an important date in its history, when at a large national assembly in Čakovec on 9 January 1919 a resolution was adopted on Međimurje’s secession from the Kingdom of Hungary.
Wreaths were laid at the Čakovec cemetery at a monument to Ivan Novak, the organiser of a military campaign for liberation from Hungarians, and the graves of all those who had contributed to the adoption of the decision on Međimurje’s unification with the parent country were visited as well.
Srpak, a member of the ruling HDZ party, said that Međimurje had always belonged to the Croatian homeland. It was never really a part of Hungary and the people of Međimurje never started speaking the Hungarian language, he said.
Asked about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s policy and his having photos of himself taken by a historical map showing Međimurje as part of Hungary, Međimurje County Assembly head Mladen Novak said that Hungary’s policy had not changed for a hundred years and would probably never change, and that the residents of Međimurje always had to be prepared for the challenges of such a policy.
“We are quiet but when we raise our voice, we are pretty fierce and we know how to fight for our interests,” said Novak.
Attending the ceremonies was also county head Matija Posavec.
The day commemorating Međimurje’s unification with the parent country Croatia is observed as a memorial day in line with a Croatian parliament decision of 2005.
The adoption of the resolution on the secession of Međimurje from the Hungarian state is important because of its relevance for the historic aspiration to preserve the integrity of Croatian territory.
After the military liberation of Međimurje, a large national assembly was held in Čakovec on January 9, 1919, at which a resolution was adopted on the secession of Međimurje from the Hungarian state and a wish was expressed to join the then Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Even though Hungarians gave up on Međimurje only in 1920, after the Treaty of Trianon, the national assembly in Čakovec was one of the most important decisions for the Croatian population of Međimurje and was attended by more than 10,000 people. Dr Ivan Novak is considered as the person who deserves most credit for secession from Hungary.
More Međimurje news can be found in the Politics section.
